Prevalence and distribution of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus within the environment and staff of a university veterinary clinic

Heller, J., Armstrong, S.K., Girvan, E.K., Reid, S.W.J., Moodley, A. and Mellor, D.J. (2009) Prevalence and distribution of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus within the environment and staff of a university veterinary clinic. Journal of Small Animal Practice, 50(4), pp. 168-173. (doi: 10.1111/j.1748-5827.2008.00695.x)

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To characterise the distribution of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus within the environment of a university small animal hospital and compare this with the distribution among staff. METHODS: Samples were collected from 140 environmental sites and the anterior nares of 64 staff members at the University of Glasgow Small Animal Hospital on a single day (d1). Sixty of the environmental sites were resampled 14 days later (d14). RESULTS: Meticillin-resistant S aureus was isolated from two of 140 (1.4 per cent; 95 per cent confidence interval: 1.7 to 5.1) environmental sites on d1 and one of 60 (1.7 per cent; 95 per cent confidence interval: 0.4 to 8.9) on d14. Two of the 64 staff sampled were positive for meticillin-resistant S aureus (3.1 per cent; 95 per cent confidence interval: 0.4 to 8.4). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: A lower prevalence of meticillin-resistant S aureus was observed in the environment than previously reported. The location, relatedness between isolates and the presence of Panton-Valentine leucocidin indicates that the source of the environmental meticillin-resistant S aureus was most likely to have been human rather than animal in these cases. This study presents important information regarding the potential source and distribution of meticillin-resistant S aureus within veterinary hospital environments and highlights potential variability of prevalence of meticillin-resistant S aureus within and between veterinary institutions

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Heller, Ms Jane and Mellor, Professor Dominic and Reid, Professor Stuart
• Authors: Heller, J., Armstrong, S.K., Girvan, E.K., Reid, S.W.J., Moodley, A., and Mellor, D.J.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Journal of Small Animal Practice
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
• ISSN: 0022-4510
• ISSN (Online): 1748-5827